the hundreds of moai of easter island are believed to represent the deified ancestors of the island’s inhabitants, with new statues having been built every three or four generations; just as the living forget their great great grandparents, so too it was believed that great great grandparents would forget the living. so new statues to guard the living would be built for the recently deceased, who would look after their descendants.

the moai were carved out of compressed volcanic ash, a process which took around two years, and are lined around the coast of the island, facing inward as protection from the outside. sadly, they could not protect the island’s inhabitants from slave traders, and most were captured and sold off in south america during the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

this european contact all but destroyed the island’s culture, with most moai being toppled, and lost was the knowledge of how these massive statues - weighing up to eighty nine tons - were transported to the coast from the inland quarry.

though we don’t know for certain when people first arrived on easter island, it is known that prior to arrival the island was covered with palm trees, but was bare by the time of european, suggesting that the island’s population was already on the brink of collapse due to resource depletion, in part as a result of moai building, as the trees are believed to have been used to help transport the statues. (x, x, x, x, x, x, x, x, x)

Set in the future when the US economy is on the brink of yet another massive financial crisis, The Crash tells the story of Guy Clifton, a federally-indicted stock trader, who is secretly enlisted by the federal government to help thwart a cyber-attack aimed at the US stock markets – an attack that could permanently cripple the economy.

Our ‘richer than God’ protagonist is charged with assembling a team capable of running the government’s top secret ‘shadow stock exchange’ in an attempt to keep the markets from mass panic in the event the cyber-hijack is successful. Having only ever been fueled by his love of money, Guy fully intends to use his insider knowledge of this world catastrophe for personal gain until he unearths the organization behind the attack and discovers its motives. For the first time in his life, Guy is challenged to make decisions not only for himself, but also for the good of his country – decisions that are rooted in morality rather than dollar signs.

This fast-paced, save-the-world thriller is a story of redemption that also challenges the audience to question if their money is safe, and if so, for how long.

Disney is the undisputed king when it comes to hiding Easter eggs in its movies, and Disney Animation Studios’ latest release ‘Moana’ is no exception.

The sweeping, sea-faring CG-animated feature film directed by Disney icons Ron Clements and John Musker includes references to no less than FOUR other Disney hits but how many did you spot first time around?

We’re thrilled to be able to share – with help from Disney – some of the film’s most noticeable Easter eggs that you may have missed on your first watch.

‘Frozen’

This one comes early in the film… did you spot it?

Credit: Disney

CHILL OUT: Chief Tui and Moana stand before a tapa cloth that features a chilling design inspired by Marshmallow from 2013’s Oscar®-winning feature ‘Frozen’.

semi/partial hiatus notification

(☼) – teeny tiny update.i’ve been quiet the last few days, and this pertains to all of my blogs. you’ve probably noticed. you may have wondered “where’s minnie?” or maybe you haven’t cared.either way, some heads up below the cut:(aisu at crestedfantasia has already been notified and i’ll be letting the admins at magicited know as well)